Chapter 60: A Crazy Plan
“It shouldn’t, I haven’t heard of the Donkey Party having similar activities.”
Loli Island won’t be until the 1980s.
In operating supporters, the Donkey Party undoubtedly strikes later but controls first.
You do secret clubs impart, I’ll directly give you a thousand miles in a day plus Loli Island.
Lin Ran thought, Nixon’s approach is so wild, no wonder he came up with something great like the future Watergate Scandal.
The Donkey Party side, due to lacking similar ways to vent, also came up with something even greater like the Lewinsky White House chicken-eating incident.
Lin Ran thought of this and was already laughing uncontrollably.
“What are you laughing at?” A week later, at 7:30 p.m., in John Morgan’s office in the General Aerospace office building, John Morgan asked.
A television was placed between them, synchronously live broadcasting Nixon and Kennedy’s television debate.
Today, the most important thing in America was the debate between these two.
Many employees went home early to prepare big meals to watch the television debate between these two.
This was also the first live television broadcast in the history of the presidential election.
Before the debate, the latest poll showed Nixon leading by about 6 percentage points.
Therefore, after impart ended, John Morgan still made no movement.
This debate was jointly broadcast by CBS, NBC, and ABC, attracting about 70 million viewers nationwide, about 40% of the American population.
According to the rules agreed upon by the candidates, each has an opening statement of about 8 minutes, a closing statement of about 3 minutes, and answers reporters’ questions in between.
Lin Ran said: “I think Nixon looks too haggard.
Is he deliberately made up like this? To attract sympathy votes from voters?
At this time, what voters need is a tough guy, not playing the victim, right?”
At this time, the employees still at the company watching the live broadcast complained outside the office: “Oh my god, Nixon’s team made him look like a mummy before he died.”
The voice timely reached into the office, John Morgan’s face changed abruptly, “Damn it!”
After the debate ended, John Morgan had already decided to donate to Kennedy.
Because Nixon’s performance was not good enough.
But by the time he attended Kennedy’s most recent campaign dinner, the poll had shown a golden cross, and John Morgan’s donation to Kennedy could only serve to gild the lily.
“Randolph, we have received the bidding invitation from NASA numbered RFP-302. RFP-302 requires us to provide a feasibility study for advanced manned spacecraft for the upcoming Apollo Program.
You guessed right, our competitors include Lockheed, Boeing, Grumman Company, Glenn Martin Company, etc., a total of 14 competitors.”
For a long time after the television debate ended, Lin Ran did not see John Morgan, until October, when the other party brought an invitation letter from NASA to Columbia University to find him.
“Has it started now?” Lin Ran took it without opening it to look, but directly asked the other party.
John Morgan explained: “This is an invitation, it starts next year.
We have been preparing before, but it’s not enough.
Before May next year, we need to submit the preliminary proposal to NASA. The other party will reduce the 14 competitors to 5 within two weeks. The remaining 5 companies need to bring complete proposals to NASA in October next year to introduce their work.
NASA will score these five companies, and the final winner will get the moon landing contract from NASA.
However, this is just the contract for manned spacecraft, not the contract for the entire Apollo Program.”
After hearing this, Lin Ran nodded, “Got it, our proposal is already very complete. Is there any place that needs adjustment?”
“Nothing needs adjustment. I’ve already poached Jim from Glenn Martin Company. He said your proposal is even more perfect than he imagined before he came, and he has no suggestions.” John Morgan said.
Of course, because under Lin Ran’s oversight, what they came up with was already the advanced complete version of the proposal that Glenn Martin Company would submit to NASA in this plan in the future.
(Martin 410 spaceship, picture from Glenn L. Martin Company’s “Apollo Final Report” submitted to NASA in 1961.)
The reason for choosing Martin’s plan as the preliminary report was to knock Glenn Martin Company out in the primary election.
The same plan, but from General Aerospace, is much more complete than yours. Why should you be selected?
After Glenn Martin is kicked out, then smoothly propose to push for a merger between both sides to strive for NASA’s orders.
John Morgan continued: “But I’m still a bit uneasy. I’m not sure that a good proposal guarantees selection.
What if Kennedy wins? What will he do to us after he wins?”
Lin Ran said: “Do you want to bet on it?”
John Morgan asked: “Bet on what?”
Lin Ran said: “We moon land on our own.
We moon land on our own and live broadcast it nationwide. Even if Kennedy is dissatisfied with you or the Morgan family, he can’t refuse us to lead this moon landing project.”
Morgan suddenly jumped up from the stool: “Are you crazy?
We moon land on our own?
What’s the point?
We do the moon landing, then all the reputation goes to Kennedy. Under his leadership, Americans successfully completed the moon landing.
We didn’t take a penny from NASA, and spent money to complete achievements for Kennedy?
Not to mention whether you can pull it off, isn’t this just a pure money-losing deal?”
Businessman thinking reoccupied the brain, and John Morgan was unprecedentedly clear-headed.
Lin Ran explained: “The moon landing here does not refer to manned moon landing.
It means we first send a small one, like a robot, send a robot up there, no need to bring it back.
Live broadcast nationwide.
Think about it, General Aerospace, split from General Electric, achieved moon landing on its own.
This is also the first time a human creation has live broadcast on the moon.
Besides us, can anyone else do it?
The American public witnesses it together. Does Kennedy dare to oppose the American public? Does he still want to run for president four years later?
It’s equivalent to us making an upfront investment ourselves in exchange for subsequent returns.”
John Morgan was moved. He asked: “How much money is needed to achieve the effect you described?”
Lin Ran held up one hand.
“Fifty million?” John Morgan asked.
Lin Ran explained: “No, it’s five hundred million.”
He thought to himself it was actually five billion.
After you throw in five hundred million US dollars, I’ll slowly raise the price.
John Morgan shook his head repeatedly: “You might as well kill me. Five hundred million US dollars, all of General Aerospace’s cash flow, plus mortgaging the company to the bank, and taking out all my personal assets, still wouldn’t reach five hundred million US dollars.
You know what this concept is!
So much money is only possible if NASA foots the bill, and even then in installments.
Their budget this year is only 900 million US dollars. They can’t just hand over half at once.”
